Statistics show that more people are choosing to live together before they marry. Couples also seem to be spending far more money on the wedding and the honeymoon than when we got married twenty years ago. It's hard sometimes when you take a cool hard look to decide why couples actually get married. Why are you getting married? Do you want a big celebration? Do you expect security? Do you want to start a family? Have you found the one you want to spend the rest of your life with? Do you want everyone to know how much you love each other?

If you've chosen not to live together, then you're probably looking forward to the fun of discovering so much more about each other, of being able to spend as much of your time together as you wish, of building a home and family together. There are lots of challenges and adjustments ahead, but also lots of fun and excitement.

If you've already been living together, do you think anything is going to change? Does that ceremony you're about to go through mean something to you? Will the marriage certificate make a difference? Will the dynamics of your relationship change at all? If you believe the cynics it's down hill all the way from here. (Don't listen to them!)

All the folks I know, who lived together before getting married say something subtle changed in their lives after the wedding. Life didn't just go on as if nothing had happened.